One Tin Soldier
by DreamsWhenAwake
Summary: The Doctor comes across a world about to go into a war that is not supposed to happen, and an impossible treasure. He tries to fix the situation, meeting new friends and opening old wounds in the process. Based off that camp/girl scout song One Tin Soldier, which is actually by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter.


So this is my fist DW fic, I hope its okay, and not too OOC...

I have out the song's lyrics at the end of the story, and the song is owned by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, not me. And Doctor Who is owned by the BBC.

Reviews are love

* * *

He pulled down the monitor, trying to figure out where he'd landed. He hadn't really been trying to get anywhere specific, just away from the insect-men who wanted him very, very dead.

"Kaiochi!" He read, "and in the capital city, no less. This will be lovely. Galaxy renowned signing, and a society based on peace and cooperation. It's a bit of an odd place though, no space travel, similar to nineteenth century Earth- and with a humanoid population- they make incredible advances with steam technology, but don't manage electricity for quite a while." The Time Lord rambled off facts about the planet as he patted the TARDIS, setting her up for a longer stay and gathering his coat. He stopped, leaning on the door and looking back at his TARDIS.

"I'll be right back, sexy, don't you worry about me." And with that, he pushed back on the door, ready for the next adventure.

The Doctor slipped around the door and saw himself in the bright, outdoor market place, and he saw a young woman glaring at him.

The Doctor stared back at her, matching her glare with a confused stare. They went on for several moments, no one speaking, just staring. Finally The Doctor stepped back and asked her what she was staring at.

"You hit me with the door, and make me drop my pottery- which I was going to sell- and, not to mention it hurt!" She said, quite obviously angry.

"She hit you!" He exclaimed, The Doctor turned away from the girl, and began inspecting the TARDIS "Are you alright? No scratches?" He asked.

"Oi! What about me, you buffoon, it just a box, and I'm a person!" The girl yelled.

The doctor turned around slowly and stood to his full height in front of the girl, suddenly serious.

"I will have you know that this is very much more than _just a box,_ and it does things you could never dream of." He said coldly. The girl crossed her arms, and said "Really? Let's see what's inside the thing then."

"Aaaah, no. Maybe later, but no." And then adding on quickly, "And she's not _a thing, _okay,"

"It's a she?" The girl responded incredulously.

"Yes, and quite a remarkable she at that!" He responded, "Probably a much better she than you are." He lowered his face down to her eye level, for she was quite short. "What's your name?"

She stared at him, as if debating whether or not to answer, and then finally deciding, she said, "Kai".

"Just Kai?" The Doctor asked, standing up again.

"While what were you expecting?" She inquired, glowering at him once more.

"I don't really know, but it does fit your height." He said. Kai got even angrier, crossing her arms and giving The Doctor a full on death stare.

The Doctor faltered, this girl was so angry all the time.

"Are you ever going to stop being mad at me?" He asked

"Only when you stop being mean to me."

The Doctor leaned back, impressed. He really looked at her for the first time; she was short, with a pageboy cut of black hair, and large, dark eyes, that looked out of place of her small, pale face. She had the typical dress of the time, a knee length skirts with a loose bodice, both of a bright blue color.

"Okay. So if you don't have any pottery to sell anymore, would you like to escort this lonely traveler through the market?"

"Not really." She replied curtly.

"Seriously!" He asked, "You are absolutely no fun! A strange man, with a box that's a she pops out of nowhere, and you are not interested in the slightest!"

"Yes. Strange men are not exactly desirable companions for young woman." She shot back. The doctor just stood there for a bit before speaking, "You know, that somewhat contradicts my entire life."

"Do most young woman you meet want to go on adventures with you?" Kai asked.

"As a matter of fact they do. So here: you can come with me, and make a new friend, possibly have an adventure, or you can stay here with your broken pottery and live your completely normal life. Your choice."

Kai stood there, then suddenly dropped down and began picking up to broken pottery pieces, still not talking. When she stood up, she was smiling for the first time.

"Great!" The Doctor said, clapping his hands together, "Where do we start!"

"I dunno, we can just walk around." They started walking into the thick of the market.

"You know, you're lucky I agreed to go with you, I was just about convinced that you were just a madman with a box." Kai pointed out, but The Doctor stopped in his tracks, a pained look suddenly on his face.

Kai looked back, concerned. "Was that not okay, or something?" She asked tentatively, she suddenly got the sense that this strange man was very dangerous.

"No, not really." The Doctor responded, then suddenly smiling, "but it's no reason for us not to enjoy this!"

"Oh please, don't give me that. I can see that you're still sad, devastated even. Your eyes don't lie, they are old eyes, old and sad." She stated plainly. The Doctor was stunned, not many people were that direct. He stared at Kai for a long while; he could tell he was getting attached, actually considering his offer to show her the TARDIS. But he couldn't do that, he couldn't get attached to her, she had a life to live, probably a good, long one, and he couldn't just highjack that away from her. He knew he should leave now, but he felt something pulling him towards her, something strangely tangible. He shook himself back to reality and saw Kai pulling on his hand, a soft smile on her face.

"It's okay to be sad, but I can still cheer you up, come on." She said softly. The Doctor tried to protest, but Kai wouldn't hear it and pulled him along into the loud marketplace.

"Oh! Wait, before we start you need to tell me your name." Kai insisted.

The Doctor thought for a moment before responding, "Just call me 'The Doctor'"

"Seriously?" Kai questioned, clearly not satisfied with the answer.

"Completely," The Doctor said simply, and Kai let it drop.

It took some time, but The Doctor soon learned that Kai had a nurturing side, and she was able to coax The Doctor into a good mood. They wandered around, window-shopping and sampling food. They swapped stories as they walked. Kai telling myths and folk tales from Kaiochi history, and The Doctor told the stories of his adventures, but he always told them as fanciful stories instead of the truth. They talked about Kai's pottery making and what her life was like here. The Doctor kept her busy talking, so he wouldn't have to answer any questions about himself.

The Doctor found himself in a clothing store that he had no interest in, waiting while Kai tried on dresses she would never buy. As The Doctor waited he watched people, watched them living their ordinary lives, lives of the like he could never have.

He was sitting outside the dressing room, and Kai was talking on and on.

"It's been ages since anyone has taken me out on a date like this, I've been so busy lately that I've forgotten how nice it is to be around other people, sometimes being alone is just so sad. Do you ever get like that, Doctor?" When The Doctor didn't reply, Kai popped out of the dressing room in a low cut dress of a flashy red fabric. She saw The Doctor staring out at the other shoppers, a puzzled look on his face.

"Doctor, you look confused. Is everything alright?"

The Doctor looked up at her as if she had startled him, then he turned back to the crowd of people.

"Something's wrong Kai, I'm not sure what yet, but something is _off_ here. Can't you feel it?" He said without looking up.

"No, I can't. I see a perfectly normal day, and I don't think you should go around insulting my home, mister." Kai snapped back.

"Hmmm, really?" The Doctor replied sounding preoccupied. But Kai was having none of this distractedness.

"So! What about this dress?" She asked twirling around. The Doctor drew his attention back to Kai and her dress; he smirked.

"Kai, you would never wear that in a million years, even if you could afford it." Kai aimed a playful smack at The Doctor's head, but before she could hit him, The Doctor ducked and gave Kai a little push, causing her to trip over the large dress. The two dissolved into laughter and continued on.

Several hours passed, and when the sun began to set, Kai treated The Doctor to a simple Kaiochi dinner of fried meat and vegetables, and a grain similar to rice. They took their dinners to a park on a hill that provided them with a wonderful view of the sunset.

"So, Kai. You've told me plenty about Kaiochi, but what about the country up the mountains?" He asked, "What are they called...the Skvati right?."

The country of Kaiochi was nestled in a fertile valley surrounded on all sides by tall mountains, most of which were uninhabitable. However, to the west the mountains were more forgiving, and a separate culture thrived there. The Skvat and Kaiochi shared a cultural root, both civilizations stemmed from the same ancient civilization. Skvat and Kaiochi were two of the many civilizations on the planet, and on the main continent a large civilization had unified much of the planet, and was far more technologically advanced. These people would soon discover the smaller continent on which Kaiochi and Skvat were located, and before long would assimilate them into itself.

"The Skvati?" Kai asked hesitantly. "We don't really talk to them, and we don't actually know that much about them. Some people say that they are witches and should never be trusted, but most people just don't bother themselves with what goes on there." She paused, "but I do know the story of how our two countries parted, we have the same root you know."

"The legend speaks of a time when life was simpler, and one great empire stretched from the valley and part way up the mountains. Life was good, and people were happy, but it was simpler, and that is not always good. You see, the people were less accepting, and the aristocracy got mad easily.

There was this woman, her name was Waole, and she was one of the king's concubines."

"There's always a woman." The Doctor interrupted sullenly. Kai shushed him and continued, "Waole was beautiful, and smart, and the king loved her greatly, even more than he loved his queen. And so, the queen got jealous, she ordered all the concubines to be taken out to mountains and left to die.

When the king found out this had happened, he ordered the queen to be executed, which was perhaps was an overreaction, but, what can we do. None of the concubines were seen again, they were presumed dead. Then one day, many years later, an old woman appeared at the palace asking for audience with the king. The king was old and ailing, so he saw no reason to deny a poor, old woman audience, he didn't have much to loose. But as soon as he saw her, he knew is was Waole, he had a moment's hope that his love had returned to him, and they would spend their last days together. It was a lovely fantasy, but it was just that: a fantasy. The old king soon noticed that there was none of the old playfulness and cheer in her eyes, but they were now cold and unfeeling.

But he still heard her out.

She claimed that she had had a spiritual awakening in the mountains, and she had spent all those years in the mountains meditating and praying, she claimed to have reached salvation. She also claimed that the king's government was corrupt, and it was that word of God that his reign must end.

The king was near death, but he had many sons to continue his line, he was not worried, the people were loyal to him. But he had lived a sheltered life; he had been oblivious to the pain of his peasants. He also had no idea that Waole had already gathered an army.

See, she hadn't spent all those years in the mountains, she spent the last twenty-some odd years in the kingdom. She preached her religion and gathered an army against the king. Part of the reason that Kaiochi people call the Skvati witches is because no one can tell you exactly how Waole managed to gather her army, I mean, she was just old woman. People claimed she used magic to change her face and change the hearts of young men.

Regardless of how she did it, Waole had an army, and the very same night she came to the king they rode out to battle.

The fighting lasted 97 days, it was a short and bloody battle that was eventually ended by Waole's arrogance. On the last day she went to see the king again. She went to boast and in full confidence her old lover wouldn't kill her, but she was wrong. As soon as the king saw the woman, his eyes grew ancient and murderous, he and ordered the witch to be killed on the spot. It was as simple as that; she died with surprise on her face and evil in her heart.

Without their leader, Waole's forces seemed lost, but the king was even closer to death, in his last days in fact. His last official act as king was to order all the followers left to start their own lives far away in the mountains. He would pardon them if they left and if they never threatened Kaiochi again." And then Kai stopped. She had finished her story.

"That was a long story." The Doctor remarked simply, for something else had grabbed his attention. Kai was explaining that that was the reason they didn't interact with Skvat very often, and commenting on how odd it was that their two languages had a common root, but sounded so different now. She went on to another subject, but once again, The Doctor was not listening. He was watching a family. There were two young boys, the mother, and an old man who appeared to be the grandfather. It would have been a happy scene if not for the feeling of realization creeping up on The Doctor, the _off _was starting to make sense. He looked around almost frantically, trying to see if his idea was correct. He turned to Kai and interrupted her mid sentence. "Kai! I figured it out! I know what's wrong."

Kai gave him an offended look, but allowed him to continue.

"Tell me Kai, is it true that in most places there are young men? Strong, healthy men. Because I'm rather well traveled and I think that is _very _normal. But there are no young men here Kai, isn't that odd?"

Kai sighed, "If you bothered to listen to me, you would know that the governor has called a draft. All the able bodied young men are to prepare for war. You missed the last part of the story, our government just recently declared that we would be in a state of war with Skvat within weeks, and now we're just waiting for the messenger to return and-"

"No, no, no, NO!" The Doctor interrupted, "You can't do that, Kai, you can't!" The Doctor cried, sounding almost broken, and then he was suddenly very angry, and stepped back from Kai, "It's not supposed to happen!" He exclaimed, and Kai suddenly got a much better look at the dangerous man she had glimpsed earlier. But she couldn't do anything, she just sat there in shock while this strange man had his outburst.

"Kai." He said, now sad again, he sounded like he was pleading with her, asking her to fix it. "It's in the name, even. 'Kaiochi' is literally hope for peace, it's in your name too, one of the many children named in hope for something good and beautiful." He reached out to touch her, then suddenly pulled away and stood up tall again, his demeanor switching like the flip of a coin again. "I can stop this, there's still time, there's always time. Take me to who's in charge." He demanded, determined and cold.

Kai stood up slowly and placed her hands on his arms in attempt to sooth him. Because Kai was confused. She didn't understand why this was such a big deal. Why it wasn't _supposed to happen._ She really had no idea what the man was going on about, he sounded like he knew more than everyone else did, like he knew some massive secret and wasn't telling.

"You really can't talk like that out in the open." She said urgently, "We aren't supposed to oppose the war effort." She paused, "And I don't even know that much about what's going on. Though I do know someone who should, my brother should be sleeping at home tonight, and we can ask him." She told The Doctor, pleading with her eyes to let her take him, and for him to let it go for now. He stared into her eyes for a good while, trying to decide if this was worth it, and in the end he let himself be dragged forlornly towards Kai's house and the answers it would bring.

Kai was apparently older than she looked, and lived on her own in a small, but tidy house. But The Doctor was in no mood to praise the small house, he just sat himself down at the kitchen table and continued sulking, lost in though and trying to figure a why this was happening.

He barely noticed when Kai unceremoniously set a cup of tea in front of him. "Drink it, it'll calm you down."

"I don't need to calm down." The Doctor protested

"Well drink it anyway. Its good for you, and I went through the trouble of making it." The Doctor gave in and took the cup, breathing in the heavy spices in Kaiochi tea. Kai had gotten her own cup and sat down beside him.

"Does it really bother you so much?" She asked, "Everybody fights sometimes."

Looking up at Kai, he sighed, nobody here knew they were doing anything wrong, and it was hard to say that they were actually doing anything wrong in the first place. They would never know that something had changed, something impossibly important had shifted, and shifted the basis of Kaiochi culture with it.

"It does bother me that much, it's wrong Kai, but I don't think I can do anything about it." He said into his teacup, rather than to her face. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, she didn't know what was going on, she opened her mouth to say something, but was silenced by a sharp knock at the door.

"Oh, that'd be Lani." The Doctor followed her to the door, wondering who Lani was, was that her brother? She opened the door and was enveloped in a hug, when the two had part The Doctor rushed over to examine the man.

He looked nothing like Kai, he had large, light features, instead of Kai's petite and darker style. They did have similar eyes, but he was so tall, The Doctor found himself having to rise up on his toes to look him in the eye. When he was done with his once-over, he turned back to Kai, "Are you sure he's your brother?" He asked innocently. Both Kai and the man behind him gave an indignant "What?!"

"Of course he's my brother! Who else would he be?"

"Well I don't know, he really looks nothing like you; maybe your fiancé, or just some bloke." He turned back to Lani, and was surprised to see the exact same defensive glare and arm-crossing Kai had given him when they first met. It was remarkable how similar they looked now. He quickly spun around to see Kai giving him the same expression, then turned back to look at the man.

"Kai! I take it all back, this man is most definitely your brother." He spoke to Kai while still looking at Lani, then more to the boy, he said, "you are definitely related to her, good job." He took his hand and shook it before going back to the table and his tea.

"Um, Kai. Who is that?" Lani asked.

"Oh, yea, that's The Doctor. I met him today, and he...um, he wanted to ask you about the war. He's a traveler I guess"

"You took a stranger to your house!" Lani exclaimed, "You've only just met him!"

The Doctor got up and walked back over to the siblings, "No, no, I assure you I am perfectly trustworthy, and Kai's right. I have questions for you."

"Why should I answer them?"

"Blimey! Why are you both so defensive? I am just asking questions." They argued on, it took a good amount of effort to convince Lani to answer anything. And the whole time Kai was watching them from the table, seeming almost amused.

"Why are you so curious? I mean, didn't Kai tell you why we were going to war?" Lani asked. Both Kai and The Doctor stood there awkwardly for a few moments before telling him that they'd never gotten that far. Lani gave a sigh of exasperation. These people.

"We've never really like Skvat, but recently we heard they had a treasure buried in their mountain, a treasure anyone would kill for. Something impossibly old and wonderful. The governor sent a messenger to Skvat, demanding that they hand the treasure over or we will go to war. Kaiochi is determined to be in possession of the Gallifreyan treasure."

_No_

Every time someone told him there was something Gallifreyan to be found, some remnant of his people he felt a terrible spark of hope, terrible because he knew it wasn't real but he couldn't stop the hope. He couldn't stop himself from hoping, which made the eventual letdown even worse. For no good would come from this. He tried to stay calm, but he felt his pulse racing and he was feeling oddly short of breath.

"That...is impossible." He finally said slowly. He stood in between the siblings, feeling threatened by their curiosity. He knew it was harmless but it was boxing him in. They couldn't be right, just couldn't.

"What makes you say that?" Kai asked.

"Because I am the last of the Time Lords, there is nothing left of the Gallifreyans in this time. _They are gone._" He enunciated very carefully, taking great pains not to lose his temper.

"But that's what it is. It's the Gallifreyan Treasure and we want it." Lani said cooly, he was addressing The Doctor, but was looking past him, staring intently at Kai. The Doctor whirled around to face Kai, she had this heartbroken look on her face. He could feel something was up, he had missed something important, but just as he went to look back at Lani, he felt a sharp sting in his shoulder. He saw Lani, arm coming down from a throw, and reached back to his shoulder, yanking the dart from it.

"Really!" He exclaimed, but even as he spoke he felt the drug setting in, he knew it would take longer to affect him, but even so he still had trouble approaching Lani. He walked over to the man, intent on giving him a good explanation, but the words wouldn't come, he could see them in his head, but they would not come out of his mouth. He floundered around a bit, trying to hang on, but the drug was strong and he slowly sunk to the ground enveloped in darkness.

He woke up suddenly, to a sharp pain in his neck. He focused in on a small, sinister looking man. He was the type of man to sit behind the scenes and give orders. Surveying the battlefield from a safe distance, while keeping his expensive suits nice and clean. The spider at the center of a web of trickery.

He was sticking a needle in The Doctor's skin, it was obviously what was waking him up.

"That does hurt you know." The Doctor mumbled when he regained use of his tongue.

"Mmm. Pity." The man said, disinterested, "And since you didn't ask, I'm the governor of Kaiochi, but for security reasons, I'm not telling you my actual name." He said with a smirk.

"I've only just woken up, you know" The Doctor protested.

"Ah, well I guess I just wanted to say that. You could have messed up my line if you'd said something." The governor replied.

The Doctor tried to reached up to touch the sore spot that the shot had left, but found himself tied down, he was sitting in a chair with his feet and hands chained down. The Doctor flopped his head back in frustration. Why was he in chains at an important time like this? There was a war that wasn't supposed to be about to start!

Then he remembered Lani giving him the sedative, and the Gallifreyan treasure. He let out a soft 'oh' of understanding.

"Where's Lani?" He asked turning his head to try and look the man head on. "And Kai!?" He added as he remembered the young girl who had taken him through the market on a whim.

"My, my, you're so curious." The man drawled, he walked in front of The Doctor, and for the first time he was able to see his face, he got the sense that the man was enjoying this. "I'm afraid you're little friends are a bit, shall we say, predisposed at the moment. The young soldier has gone of to fight, little Lani will be little no more."

"And Kai?" The Doctor breathed.

"Oh, well you see, I couldn't just let her walk away from that like nothing had happened, I've categorized you as a military secret, and she is the only person who actually knows you. So I've locked her away where no one can get to her. Her poor parents, so poor that they couldn't support their children, and now their babies are caught up in government business." He tutted as if they'd done something wrong.

"No! No! She's just a little girl!" The Doctor yelled.

"Well, then I guess both siblings are going to grow up far too soon. One from the terrors of war, and the other from the despair of confinement." He said with mock sadness.

"Will you _stop enjoying this!"_ The Doctor yelled.

"Would you tell me why you claimed to be Gallifreyan?" The governor asked, completely unfazed.

"I am." The Doctor said simply. "And that's why I know you shouldn't be doing this."

"That's too bad, the troops are already marching on Skvat, they should have the treasure by morning, the mountain people have really terrible defenses and they didn't think we'd actually attack. They're so stupid."

"How did you get to be governor of this place?" The Doctor asked, but the man simply tutted again and didn't tell him anything.

The governor clapped his hands, "You see, Doctor, you're going to stay here, alone and awake, while the battle rages. You will be powerless to help, to save us from this war that shouldn't be, and I will watch as my troops return from the battle victorious, with a treasure to make me rich for the rest of my life, and then some. And you are going to tell me everything you know about it, Mr. Last of the Gallifreyans." He walked to the door, "I'll call when you're needed." He said as a goodbye, and then left the room, turning off the gas lamps in the room, and leaving The Doctor in the dark.

There was nothing in the room to help him. He couldn't break free of the chains, and the chair was bolted to the floor. He could even see the glint of a hidden window, it seemed he was even under surveillance.

He couldn't just resign himself to the fact that this had happened, but he couldn't do anything about it. He sat there and sat there, growing more and more impatient, sinking back into his memories of other times. Other times when he had failed, and other times he had seen wars happen and hadn't been able to stop them. The time he had fought in a war...

He was still lost in memories, when the Governor came back in, a lantern in on hand and four large men behind him.

"There has been a small hitch in the plan," he said in his smooth, calculating voice, " Now that the fighting is over, I believe we need your help to get our prize." He gestured and the four other men came over and unchained The Doctor's chair from the floor, they proceeded to lift it up with no regard for The Doctor's comfort. They carried him out of the room as if the chair was a liter of sorts. They stopped in front of the governor, who raised his eyebrows as if waiting for The Doctor to speak.

"Innocent people have died." He said, in a soft voice. The type of voice that made you wish he would yell at you, because the infinite sadness and disappointment in this tone was so much worse. The governor simply gave him a funny look, before proceeding as if he had done nothing so terrible, "Good observation. But you see, the Skvati replied to my message saying that of course they'd share their treasure with me, but they didn't seem to understand. I had asked for unconditional surrender, and the _entire_ treasure, so yes, innocent people have died. I think they call that collateral damage." He turned away and walked into the hallway, and The Doctor was carried after him.

They walked through hallways of plain white stone, and then into a large room, full of carts and animals that looked like horses, but not quite. The Doctor's chair was once again chained to the bottom of one of the carts, trapping him in a small, dark, and wooden box that smelled strongly like hay. He didn't like the rumbling and bumpy trip. It was dark, and boring and he was trapped. He didn't like being trapped, and on top of being stuck he was being dragged up a mountain to help aid in an impossible war effort. As time wore on, his sadness grew into irritation, and then anger. Even if he hasn't been able to stop the fight, he hadn't started it; it was the governor of Kaiochi who had gone to war against an innocent people just to gain a treasure.

The Gallifreyan treasure. The Doctor still hadn't quite worked out what it was, though he suspected that some old Time Lord relic had fallen through a time rift. Perhaps some temporal transaction had gone wrong in the age before the Last Time War, causing this thing to end up in Skvat now. But there was always the possibility that it wasn't just some artifact or expensive work of art, as The Doctor hoped. It could be Time Lord technology, even weaponry; things that could never fall into the hands of these people.

Then something fundamental changed. It took The Doctor a moment to realize the cart had stopped moving, and he was now surrounded by silence, that was only broken by the footsteps he could hear outside. The door of the cart opened, and bright mountain light momentarily blinded The Doctor. The first thing that came into focus for The Doctor was the governor's slight silhouette, and then his sharp features. The man walked into the cart, swinging a ring of keys from his finger.

"It's not like you to be out on the front lines, is it?" The Doctor asked bitingly.

"Well, I do like to inspect my handiwork." The man said, and he bent down and slowly unlocked The Doctor's chains.

"Why are you letting me walk free? Aren't you afraid I'll do something?"

"Actually, I get the feeling that you are going to be rather subdued." The governor said simply, and then walked out of the cart, leaving The Doctor to follow him. He stepped out into the bright mountain light and was greeted with a breathtaking view. Before him stood a sheer mountain face, with a small waterfall snaking down, and tall trees clustered around it. Before the mountain was the center of a Skvati city. Impressive structures hewn out of rock lined an open area with small bushes and benches. It looked to be a central plaza; a place that was meant to bustling with life and activity. But it wasn't.

There were several soldiers in the process of washing the deep red stain of blood from the ground. Other men were moving countless bodies into a hole in the ground. People were being dumped in unceremoniously, no regard was given to anyone, man, woman, or child. The entire population of the city had been slaughtered over night.

An entire society had been wiped out; the Kaiochi army had taken no prisoners, shown no mercy. They hit like barbarians, killing everything in their wake. The reality of it washed over The Doctor in a sudden wave. He took in all the death and destruction with no filter; simple, raw emotion rushed in a pushed away anything else.

"You see, we've killed them all, and now we will win our just reward." The governor intoned from beside The Doctor. He spun around and pointed at the governor, anger coursing through him. "You!" He yelled, "Have just lost the right to speak to me! But I am not sure you ever had it in the first place!" He walked in front of the man, pacing around and gesturing to his bloody surroundings.

"You, know, you aren't going to learn any lessons from this! You are going to walk away thinking you have done _no _wrong. So, guess what? You can go hate your neighbor for outdated reasons, and kill _them all!_ You can cheat all your friends back home, come back with amazing treasure, but forget to tell them how you got it. You can even say you do it in the name of Heaven, but there will be no trumpets blowing, come your judgment day! Because now that you're done, you leave each soldier to ride away, his heart utterly changed by the toll of war. And you leave me, a man so hardened that his heart could have turned to tin, like the old tin soldiers children play with. You leave me to ride away, knowing I let this happen. So remember well that no power on this world or above will praise this, governor. In the future of your country, this day will be looked back upon so shame! And they will remember _you_ as the devil that ordered the death of these people. I mean, they even offered to share the treasure with you." The Doctor paused, and walked right up to the governor. "I know you may look like none of this bothers you, but I know, somewhere deep inside you, your heart still beats, and you feel regret. And the regret will slowly spread forth from this dark, locked away corner of your psyche. And when it does, it will eat away at you, until you will have no where to hide, not even in your sleep will you be able to escape the horrors you have seen." The Doctor suddenly turned away and starting to walk towards the giant mountain, and the small, heavily guarded tunnel in the very center.

"So! Lets go find your 'just reward'!" And he sauntered off.

The governor stood there, hands in his pockets, for several moments. He wasn't quite sure how to take this. This absurd man with no credentials, no backstory had just told him off like he had never been before. But for some reason, a thought was nagging at the back of his mind; a thought that whispered, "trust him, trust The Doctor. He is right".

But then he regained awareness, and rushed after The Doctor in a slightly undignified jog. He was curious as to why this man, who was so against the war, was now offering to take him to his prize.

"Why are you helping us?" He asked.

"Do I detect a trace if emotion in your voice? Is it curiosity." The Doctor teased, "Well you seem to be a bit slow in catching on, I'm helping you because whatever this so called treasure is, it is not what you think it is. I do admit, that even I am not sure what it is, any remnant from the Time Lords- and this is given that is actually is Time Lord- will not help you." He stop in his tracks, and met the eyes of the governor, "I guarantee it." The Doctor finished.

They had reached the entrance to the cave, at first the guards were against letting The Doctor in, but a simple look from the governor had them backing away and letting The Doctor continue his long, purposeful strides into the cavern.

The cave was not exceedingly large, after several meters of narrow tunnels, it opened into one large room. The room was roughly cut, made in efficiency, not beauty. And in the very center was a large copper box, covered in nobs and dials reminiscent of the TARDIS console. It was also, strangely enough, covered in Gallifreyan writing. The artistic swirls of The Doctor's native language labeling most of the available space.

Also, standing at attention next to the box was Lani. He gave an awkward glance towards The Doctor, but said nothing.

"Why hello, Lani." The Doctor said, clapping the young soldier on the back, "It's quite nice to see you again." The Doctor said a bit sarcastically.

He noticed that the governor was fixing the box with a pointed stare,

"Is this what's stumped you?" He asked.

"Well yes, we don't really know what to do. It's full of levers we don't understand, and we don't know if that is a language or just decoration." He replied slowly.

"Oh, don't worry, it's a language, and I can read it." The Doctor said, he walked over to the box and bent down to examine the writing. He moved around the box, silently mouthing the words he read. At one point he stopped and stood up. He looked directly at the governor, "Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?" He asked quietly.

The governor could find the words. For some reason, that one simple question had him doubting, and he couldn't trust himself to speak. So he simple gave one nod.

"Alright." The Doctor muttered, and dramatically pulled up one small lever.

The box shuddered, shaking until it began to move, slowly sliding over until it revealed a hole, and from inside the hole a deep black rock rose up.

The Doctor let out a breath and then a mirthless chuckle. "This is almost worse than anything else." He said softly. He looked around and the soldiers in the room, and the governor in front of him. "I present to you the stone of Maridiol, a key artifact from the Gallifreyan high senate. This stone has inscriptions in almost every major language in the universe; it was mounted behind the speaker's platform, to remind us to only look on, and to cause no hard. _You know what it says!?" _He yelled the last sentence, searching the faces before him for any hint of understanding. "It says peace in this world! In every language you could think of. And right there," he pointed to a spot on the stone, causing the governor to rush around to look on, "it says it in Kaiochi, am Skvati. Right next to each other!" The Doctor jumped up and down several times, letting out emotion through the movement.

"I am older than your country, and I have seen things, and personally done things, that make this slaughter look like nothing. You'd think I'd have hardened up by now, maybe grown a bit of a shell, but no! It hurts every single time!" The Doctor pounded on his chest to annunciate. "There is no word in your language, or any other tongue I have heard spoken to properly describe the pain I go through as I have to sit and watch history take its course. I've seen wonders and horrors, peace and war, and every time I watch injustice and pain, I feel the sadness as if it was my first time seeing devastation. And what is almost worse than that is having to watch everyone go away! I have to watch as people move on, settle down, or die. Every single person I have _ever _been close to is gone, leaving me alone. That is what I am at my core; The Last Time Lord, utterly and completely alone!" The Doctor yelled at his audience. "So if you don't mind, I am going to be leaving."

He stalked out of the cave, leaving the Gallifreyan treasure behind without a look back. He walked past the guards and soldiers, past the bloody aftermath of the battle, but he didn't turn his head. He kept his gaze fixed on one of the pack animals, and when be reached the beast, he soothed the large animal and then mounted it, riding down the treacherous mountain with only the slightest hint of caution.

He reached the capital city just as the market day was beginning, just as the people, so ignorant and naïve, began their day. He felt none of the wonder and joy he had felt the first time he had seen this place. Everything he saw reminded him of the horrible things these people would have to come to terms with. And so he walked on, trying to keep himself together. Trying not to break down until he got to the TARDIS.

When he reached the TARDIS, he saw a familiar face waiting beside the blue box.

"You know, I knew you were going to try and leave without saying goodbye." Kai said in greeting. The Doctor looked at her, knowing that she may have very well just been released from prisons just hours earlier. He felt the shame hit him because he knew it was his fault that she had gone through that, if he had never let himself get attached, she would have never been part of this.

" I am so sorry." The Doctor said quietly as he brought his arms around Kai, giving the small woman a hug. "There is nothing you did that made it so you deserved what you got. It is entirely my fault. I know that I should never get involved with people, but I always do"

Kai reached up and held either side of The Doctor's face, watching as his emotions strained to stay beneath the surface.

"You think you can't look back because you leave destruction in your wake, but you forget that you do good. I only knew you for less than a day, and you did me good. Have you ever thought that maybe trouble doesn't follow you, but you follow trouble? Because you know that someone has to be there to soften the blow. In the narrative of horrors, there must be one man to carry on the light. You are that light, Doctor. And so while I'll let you leave, because I know you must, I'm sure as hell going to make you say goodbye to me, you buffoon." It was spoken quietly, almost in a whisper that only The Doctor could hear. The old man almost smiled as he whispered back, "Goodbye, Kai." And then he pulled away and stuck the key in the TARDIS door.

"You sure I can't see it?" Kai called out from behind him. Without ever looking back, The Doctor shook his head and slipped into his blue box.

As he walked into the TARDIS, The Doctor found himself numb to all emotions, it wasn't a new feeling, but one he was somewhat resentful towards. What right did he have to be spared the pain? He wasn't very well suited to the role of the one tin soldier who rides away after battle.

But he thought about what Kai had said, he felt the words sticking with him even though he didn't necessarily want them too. Perhaps even if in the end he changed and hurt people, people actually enjoyed the time they spent with him. A person had once told him, "One may tolerate a world of monsters for the sake of an angel". Perhaps more people saw him as an 'angle' than he thought.

He moved with slow, fluid movements around the TARDIS console. Switching the controls with far less gusto than usual. He stopped and patted the TARDIS's side, while saying with a sad smile "Maybe you should worry about me."

tin soldier

_Listen, children, to a story_

_That was written long ago,_

_'Bout a kingdom on a mountain_

_And the valley-folk below._

_On the mountain was a treasure_

_Buried deep beneath the stone,_

_And the valley-people swore_

_They'd have it for their very own._

_Go ahead and hate your neighbor,_

_Go ahead and cheat a friend._

_Do it in the name of Heaven,_

_You can justify it in the end._

_There won't be any trumpets blowing_

_Come the judgement day,_

_On the bloody morning after..._

_One tin soldier rides away._

_So the people of the valley_

_Sent a message up the hill,_

_Asking for the buried treasure,_

_Tons of gold for which they'd kill._

_Came an answer from the kingdom,_

_"With our brothers we will share_

_All the secrets of our mountain,_

_All the riches buried there."_

_Go ahead and hate your neighbor,_

_Go ahead and cheat a friend._

_Do it in the name of Heaven,_

_You can justify it in the end._

_There won't be any trumpets blowing_

_Come the judgement day,_

_On the bloody morning after..._

_One tin soldier rides away._

_Now the valley cried with anger,_

_"Mount your horses! Draw your sword!"_

_And they killed the mountain-people,_

_So they won their just reward._

_Now they stood beside the treasure,_

_On the mountain, dark and red._

_Turned the stone and looked beneath it..._

_"Peace on Earth" was all it said._

_Go ahead and hate your neighbor,_

_Go ahead and cheat a friend._

_Do it in the name of Heaven,_

_You can justify it in the end._

_There won't be any trumpets blowing_

_Come the judgement day,_

_On the bloody morning after..._

_One tin soldier rides away._

_Go ahead and hate your neighbor,_

_Go ahead and cheat a friend._

_Do it in the name of Heaven,_

_You can justify it in the end._

_There won't be any trumpets blowing_

_Come the judgement day_

_On the bloody morning after..._

_One tin soldier rides away._


End file.
